For Colourshot founder Tanya Luke, African print is a unifying force. Sewing since she was a teenager, she takes African fabrics and cuts them into greetings cards, gifts and accessories that shout colour and culture.

Tell us about Colourshot. What kind of products do you create?

Colourshot is all about African fabrics. This is not so unique in itself, but what makes it different is in how those fabrics or fabric patterns are used. At Colourshot, I specialise in handmade cards, gifts and clothing made with or inspired by vibrant African fabrics.

The DNA and purpose of Colourshot is to create functional, contemporary everyday products, designed with the aesthetics of black people and people of colour in mind. The unifying bond across the product range is the use and celebration of African fabric.

The aim is to be an excellent representative of modern African culture; the love of colour, especially as expressed in the fabrics that are worn, is an underlying continuous theme that unites all Africans, whether on the continent or across the world in the diaspora. Colourshot couples this fundamental love of colour with modern designs that reflect twenty-first century lifestyle and trends.

“I specialise in handmade cards, gifts and clothing made with or inspired by vibrant African fabrics”

What makes your range different from other brands?

Among the many products created, from the iconic Colourshot headwrap card made with real fabric – reflecting the worldwide popularity of headwraps – to uniquely embellished shower caps, Colourshot caters for the modern aesthetic. 

Greeting cards are the beating heart of Colourshot; all handmade using African fabric, coming alongside people who want to celebrate their special occasions in a way that reflects their preferences and culture. Birthday cards, weddings, graduations, anniversaries: all occasions are catered for.

Uniquely with Colourshot, every handmade card can be personalised in some way as part of the standard service. In the majority, the personalisation allows for writing their own greeting and message. But a few go further. For example, Colourshot wedding cards can be personalised in quite a detailed way, with skin shades, figure sizes, hair styles and hair colour chosen by the customer.

Indeed, the number one bestselling product is interracial wedding cards, with feedback expressing delight at having found a card that is able to closely match the recipients in mind.

Where did the idea come from to incorporate African print fabrics into your products?

I have always loved fabric and sewing since I was a teen; this was a no-brainer way to be able to consistently work with my favourite medium.

You have a wide range of designs, from man and woman silhouettes to wildlife. What’s the process of designing a new card each time?

People who know my brand would be surprised to realise that my very first cards were all wildlife. Elephants, giraffes, lions and meerkats were all some of the very first designs I did. I don’t actually remember how I started creating headwrap cards, but those were definitely my major breakthrough and have become my USP.

The process of creating a new card is typically a burst of high energy, followed by months on the back burner. I am inspired by something I have seen and loved and its potential to look amazing when translated into fabric. I will then create an outline of it in a few hours, getting a rough idea of what it should look like.

It then sits in my inspiration folder and in my head for several months while I get on with other things, until suddenly it leaps back into the forefront of my mind and I pick it up again and finish the design, with all the refinements necessary to make it work as a card.

The fun part comes in creating variations of the design. For instance, I might have a card for a woman with a slim or full figure option; or an anniversary card which has options for both younger and older couples, with hair and features to match.

What’s the feedback that your cards usually receive?

My customers usually like my cards very much; they enjoy the quality and the fabric aspect of it, and like that they can make it more personal to them.

What are your thoughts on the level of diversity in the greetings card industry?

When I started making cards, there wasn’t very much diversity at all. Perhaps it might be more accurate to say that the diversity that existed was hidden and flew under the radar for most people. It was difficult to find, assuming that you even knew that it existed to look for it.

In recent years, this continues to be the origin story for many card brands that have set up. They couldn’t find cards that they wanted to buy for their family or loved ones and decided to start their own business – especially during and since the pandemic, where people had enough space and time to allow their creativity to blossom.

In fact, in addition to Colourshot, I am joint owners of The Black Card Company, which started during the pandemic and is a marketplace platform with 60+ vendors, selling diverse cards and gifts. This allows people to be able to access a large variety of card designs in one place, reducing the need to hunt them down.

You also create African print accessories, such as water bottles, bags and jewellery. Why did you expand into these?

I find that, although I love African fabrics, outside of clothing I tend to prefer items around me and my home that are not just decorative but are also useful. So for me, functionality is a major reason why I would buy something.

I started making jewellery with purchased beads, but switching to African fabrics really helped me tap into my creativity and enable successful designs.

With water bottles, travel mugs, tote bags and so on, what I like about them was that they are functional items that are used every day by people at work, gym, shopping and school. I feel that they are the perfect type of product to easily show love for your identity wherever you go, without needing a special occasion or an expensive item – especially in the Western world, where I and most of my customers live, and where representation of one’s culture to society is important.

What are some of your favourite products out of these?

My absolute favourite product in this category are my shower caps. As most black people know, if you have big hair, whether your own natural hair, braids or extensions, shower caps are too small, and keeping hair dry in the shower can be a problem. My fully waterproof, highly decorated, properly sized shower caps are the perfect example of functionality and beauty combined.

How does your heritage and identity shape the business?

As a Sierra Leonean who grew up in Sierra Leone and educated to university-level there, and who has lived in the UK for the majority of my adult life, I am grounded in my African roots. At the same time, I appreciate the benefits and awareness that I have obtained while living and working in the UK.

What’s your professional background and how do you bring that experience to Colourshot?

I studied Civil Engineering and worked as a transport planner in a consulting engineering business for 25 years before starting Colourshot. I think what it brings is my organised approach to work. Making relatively small items and allowing for lots of customer choice means I have a lot of stock to keep in order.

I’m not very tidy, but I am very organised, and over the years my work processes have developed so that I can fulfil most orders in a relatively short time, which customers like.

As a business owner, what keeps you going when things get tough?

My family is fully supportive of me, and I wouldn’t be without that love and support. When things go poorly or I make a mistake, I remind myself that God, rather than my business, is my source, which helps me maintain balance when things go wrong,

What’s your biggest business achievement?

The ability to have a work-life balance that has been able to flow and adjust to all stages of my life.

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